Apple says iOS 6 is now on 300 million devices as it rolls out v6.1

As Apple rolled out an update to its mobile OS on Monday, it also found time to blow its own trumpet with the announcement that version 6 of iOS has now been loaded onto almost 300 million iOS devices since its release five months ago.

If Edible Apple’s assertion that Apple has sold over half a billion iOS devices is correct, then iOS 6 and above is now running on around 60 percent of these. Of course, early iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches aren’t able to upgrade to Apple’s latest operating system, meaning the 60 percent figure will be even higher among devices that are able to receive the upgrade.

Phil Schiller, the Cupertino company’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, said the high take-up rate meant it “may be the most popular new version of an OS in history.” But only ‘may’.

The uptake of iOS 6 reportedly received a boost at the end of last year with the release of Google’s brand new Maps app. When the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system launched last September, Apple replaced Google’s Maps app with its own version.

However, it quickly became apparent that Apple’s offering had some serious issues, causing a significant number of iOS users to hold off upgrading from iOS 5 (so they could continue using Google’s old Maps app) until Apple either sorted out its own mapping tool or Google released a new version of its Maps app. When Google’s offering hit the app store in December, a marked increase in upgrades to iOS 6 was reported.

Version 6.1, rolled out on Monday, brings with it the ability to purchase movie tickets through Fandango using Siri (US only), meaning you can give your fingers a rest and verbalize your ticket order instead – however, you’d better be sure Siri doesn’t misunderstand you and end up getting tickets for a different show.